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In-Depth Information
configuration to describe your web application to the container, relying entirely on the OSGi manifest.
It, like a shared-library
.WAR
, can use Spring to inject OSGi services. The final format is called a
platform
archive
. A platform archive is the ultimate form of an application. It provides the ability to group
bundles together and provides application isolation. Application isolation is critical because it allows
you to solve the issue of reconciliation of two services whose interfaces collide. You can use a
.PAR
to
isolate services within the deployment unit.
SpringSource dm Server provides the robustness needed to commoditize enterprise application
development in an OSGi environment, and definitely deserves a look. For a
really
good reference,
specifically on SpringSource dm Server, I (Josh Long) would humbly recommend you investigate my
co-author's in-depth treatment of the subject,
Pro SpringSource dm Server
, by Gary Mak and Daniel
Rubio (Apress, 2009).
12-8. SpringSource's Tooling
Problem
You want to begin with SpringSource dm Server, but need a way to rapidly turnaround development.
Solution
Use the SpringSource dm Server tooling available as part of SpringSource Tool Suite (STS).
Approach
One of the best parts about dealing with OSGi, and in particular SpringSource's implementation, is that
the tooling is prolific and refined. SpringSource has provided solid tooling for Eclipse, called dm Server
Tools, which facilitate executing applications directly in a development environment. These tools—part
of the broader SpringSource Tools Suite (STS)—are available as either a plug-in or as a stand-alone
environment.
The path of least resistance, especially if you're just starting or if you plan on doing a lot of Spring
development, is to download the standalone installation and use it, as it contains built-in support for
Spring applications. I prefer the first approach, as interfacing with OSGi rarely requires more than a few
minutes and rarely distracts from primary Java application development. We'll explore both approaches
in this recipe.
SpringSource Tool Suite requires Eclipse Ganymede (3.4), as well as the corresponding Web
Tools Platform (WTP) to work, though, as of this writing, milestone releases for the recently released
Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) are available.
We'll walk through installing the SpringSource Tool Suite plug-ins into an existing installation, and
not the individual dm Server Tools or Spring IDE. Both of these products are folded into SpringSource
Tool Suite, and SpringSource Tool Suite was just recently made available for free.
Assuming you have a compatible build of Eclipse (the Eclipse Java EE Developer's package is a solid
start on top of which to install the tooling because it contains WTP and a lot of other useful tooling). The
simplest installation mechanism is to point the update manager inside of Eclipse to the SpringSource
Eclipse update site. To do this, choose “Software Updates” from Eclipse's “Help” menu and then open
the “Available Software” tab. You can add the SpringSource update site(s) by clicking the “Add Site”
button, and enter the following URLs (one at a time):
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